Matt Taylor was disappointed with Bristol Rovers' first-half performance in their 4-0 loss to Swindon Town in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.
The Robins scored all their goals in the opening 45 minutes to claim a comfortable victory, with Paul Glatzel netting a brace before a strike from Joel McGregor and a header from Botan Ameen put the contest beyond the Gas.
Rovers had won both of their last games in October, beating Charlton Athletic and Burton Albion in Sky Bet League One, but the much-changed outfit came unstuck.
Taylor was frustrated with the performance and insisted that he learned a lot about his squad.
The first half was beyond not good enough...
"The first half was beyond not good enough," he said. "In terms of what we did on that football pitch for 45 minutes was a shock, surprise and an embarrassment.
"We can say in the second half, we restored a little bit of pride by not coming out second best as much, but the damage was certainly done in that first half.
"How we didn’t feel we needed to compete, run hard or do everything you need to do in professional football to compete is beyond me."
We went off script and started badly...
"Both teams played the same formation," said Taylor. "We were second best. Some of them, I’ve got to be careful with my words here, are a bit entitled in terms of their approach to the game, like they don’t have to do the dirty work.
"We all want to play a perfect game. We’re not good enough to do that.
"We went off script and started badly. It got worse, but there was a serious lack of desire to make a difference as it went on.
"We can make a difference when we speak to them at half-time, and we’re constantly fixing problems, but that problem was there for all to see in the first half."
The game always tells you the truth...
"I think everyone has learned a little bit about those players on the pitch tonight," said the manager. "Where we are squad-wise, maybe why they are not getting the opportunities on a Saturday which they feel they deserve.
"The game always tells you the truth. We had to make those changes, and even the ones who have played and have featured came off with injuries, which compounds it.
"It was great to get Taylor Moore back on the pitch for some more game time and James Wilson towards the end, but it’s pretty clear in terms of who I want to work with. Now I just need to narrow the focus a little bit and stay clear from peripheral noise and distractions.
"I think we learned going into the Charlton game about who's in the right place physically and mentally," he said. "Who can do a job, and what’s needed on the pitch? We followed it up with the Burton game and certainly second-half performance.
"There will be a couple of players on that pitch tonight who will still be in the mix in relation to that.
"But for that group of players on the pitch tonight, you’re either going to get closer to the first team or further away and unfortunately, a few have gone a long way away from it.
